Spider-Man: Homecoming Sequel Introducing Gwen Stacy?

This year's Spider-Man: Homecoming launched a whole new Spider-Man trilogy. Set in the MCU, it proved a critical and box office success. It's no surprise that Marvel is now working on the sequel, with Kevin Feige recently confirming writer-director Jon Watts will return for the film. The latest reports suggest Marvel is looking to cast an iconic character this time round.

Omega Underground has obtained a leaked audition tape for the Homecoming sequel. This features an unknown French actress by the name of Louna auditioning for the role of Gwen Stacy. Although Gwen's traditionally a blonde-haired, blue-eyed American, it looks as though Marvel is switching things up. It seems Marvel may be changing the character's origin, perhaps turning her into a foreign exchange student. Omega Underground speculates she'll be born in France, or maybe even Russia, and will transfer to Peter's school.

It's a surprising twist, but it makes sense. We're now watching the third version of Spider-Man to hit the big screen, and Marvel is determined to give us something fresh and new. That drove so many of the key plot twists and casting choices in Homecoming, most notably the decision to cast Zendaya as MJ. If Omega Underground's report is correct, Marvel are taking the same approach with Gwen Stacy. Emma Stone already gave us a comic-book-accurate version of the character in the Amazing Spider-Man films, so it's a sensible move.

That said, it looks as though Marvel is setting up a classic plot. The original Spider-Man comics saw Gwen and Mary-Jane vying for Peter's heart. That ended in tragedy, with Gwen dying at the hands of the Green Goblin. Fans are confident that the Homecoming sequel will see Zendaya's MJ act as a love interest, but it seems she'll have competition.

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Fans are already curious about how this could play out. In the comics, Gwen's mother was actually French. Perhaps in the MCU, Gwen's parents will have separated and she'll have been brought up in France. If that's the case, we'd expect to see Captain Stacy enter the MCU in the Homecoming sequel as well.

The real question, of course, is what will happen next? In the comics, Gwen's story has taken an unexpected direction. The "Spider-Verse" event in 2014 introduced fans to an alternate-reality version of the character known as Spider-Gwen. In this reality, Gwen Stacy was the one bitten by the radioactive spider, and she became a superhero herself. Spider-Gwen is tremendously popular, and Marvel wasted no time launching an ongoing. Given Homecoming already had a nod to Miles Morales, is it possible Marvel will grant more characters spider-powers?

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Marvel managed to keep many of Homecoming's greatest plot twists under wraps. The odds are good that they'll do the same this time around. If Omega Underground's information is correct though, we can assume the twists will include one of the most celebrated Spider-Man character of all.